Year 2 maths curriculum

Everything your learners will cover in the English Year 2 maths curriculum and what you can do to help them along the way.

Author
Mhairi Sim

Published
March 2024

Year 2 maths curriculum

Everything your learners will cover in the English Year 2 maths curriculum and what you can do to help them along the way.

Author
Mhairi Sim

Published
March 2024

Year 2 maths curriculum

Everything your learners will cover in the English Year 2 maths curriculum and what you can do to help them along the way.

Author
Mhairi Sim

Published
March 2024

Key Takeaways

End of Key Stage 1: Year 2 is the final year of the Key Stage 1 curriculum.
Seven main topics: The Year 2 maths curriculum is split into seven key topics, one more than in the Year 1 maths curriculum.
Assessments: As of 2024 the Year 2 SATs are no longer a statutory requirement and are now optional assessments.

Table of contents

Year 2 is the second and final year of Key Stage 1 and throughout this stage, students will have been building essential skills and knowledge. Their work in this stage will serve as the foundation that the rest of their learning will be built on as they move through the rest of their school years!

The maths Year 2 national curriculum is made up of seven different areas, each with its own statutory requirements that learners need to know by the end of the year. It’s important that learners have a good grasp of these key concepts in order to be successful when they move on to Key Stage 2 next year.

Let’s take a closer look and break down exactly what the statutory requirements are and what our learners need to know by the end of Year 2!

What’s covered in the Year 2 maths curriculum?

The Year 2 maths curriculum can be broken down into seven main topic areas, four of which fall under the area of number:

Number
- Place value
- Addition and subtraction
- Multiplication and division
- Fractions
Measurement
Geometry
Statistics

Number

The first four areas in the Year 2 maths curriculum fall under the broader area of number. In each of these areas, Year 2 students will be expected to work with numbers up to 100 to solve a range of different problems.

Place value

As in Year 1, students will still be working with numbers 0 to 100 but in Year 2 they’ll need to do a lot more with these numbers than they did last year! As Year 2 draws to a close, learners will be able to:

Compare numbers using <, > and = signs
Recognise the place values within two-digit numbers (ones and tens)
Write the numbers 0 to 100 using words
Count in steps of 2, 3, and 5.

Addition and subtraction

Year 2 will see students increase their use of mental and written methods of addition and subtraction, while still using physical materials to support them!

Learners will be taught how to add and subtract two-digit numbers and add up to three one-digit numbers too. Lots of practice in this area throughout the year will help them understand that addition calculations can be done in any order, while subtraction cannot.

Multiplication and division

As they learn more about multiplication and division, students will learn to use a range of strategies to solve multiplication and division problems including arrays, repeated addition, using concrete materials and other mental strategies.

By the end of Year 2, students will:

Know their 2, 5, and 10 multiplication table facts
Be able to write out calculations using the appropriate symbols (x and ÷)
Identify odd and even numbers

Fractions

The Year 2 maths curriculum introduces students to some simple fractions such as halves, thirds, and quarters. They’ll learn how to find fractions like these in simple shapes, measurements, objects or amounts. Additionally, they’ll learn about equivalent fractions such as ½ and 2⁄4.

Measurement

Measurement is a skill that as adults we still use in our daily lives so it’s an important topic to cover from an early age! As per the national curriculum, Year 2 maths learners will cover three main topics in this area; measure, money and time.

Measure: Students will be able to choose the appropriate unit of measure and use items like rulers, thermometers, and scales accurately. They’ll practise their skills in measuring length/height, mass, temperature, and capacity.
Money: In Year 2, pupils will learn how to add and subtract different amounts of money, using £ and p appropriately in their written work. They’ll be expected to know how to combine different coins or notes to make equivalent amounts.
Time: Learners will be taught how to tell the time to the nearest 5 minutes and be able to identify quarter to and quarter past. By the end of Year 2, they’ll also be able to state how many minutes are in an hour and how many hours are in a day.

Geometry

In line with the national curriculum, Year 2 maths students will cover some simple geometry, building on the work they completed last year in Year 1.

Properties of shapes

They’ll dive deeper into exploring the properties of 3-D and 3-D shapes. As learners finish year two Year 2 they’ll be able to:

Identify the properties of 2-D shapes such as the number of sides and any vertical lines of symmetry
Identify the properties of 3-D shapes such as the number of vertices, edges and faces
Identify 2-D shapes that can be found in 3-D shapes
Relate everyday objects to 2-D and 3-D shapes (e.g. a football is a sphere)

Position and direction

Year 2 students will progress from Year 1 in their work on directions by describing turns as either clockwise or anti-clockwise. They’ll also be able to describe the link between a right angle and a quarter turn.

Another fun aspect of this topic that’s the perfect opportunity to let your learners get creative with is patterns and sequences. They can have fun as they identify patterns and continue simple sequences in the same style with different tiling activities.

Statistics

Following the national curriculum maths Year 2 students will be introduced to statistics, which they didn’t cover in Year 1.

During this topic, they’ll get to grips with pictograms, tables, tally charts, and simply block diagrams and learn how to:

Read and count the number totals in each category
Sort categories based on the quantities in each
Interpret the data and use it to answer questions
Create simple chats or tables of their own

Did you know?

DoodleMaths is standards-aligned to the national maths curriculum. With our maths app, your child can practise Year 2 maths problems & play fun maths games anytime!

Create a free account today!

How will my child be assessed?

Following the introduction of the Reception Baseline Assessment (RBA) there is now no statutory requirement for children in Year 2 to be assessed!

Prior to 2024, students in Year 2 were required to sit SATs in May. Some schools may still choose to have their Year 2 students sit these tests, but they are now optional.

Class teachers will also continuously and informally assess students throughout the year using a range of formative assessment strategies. This allows teachers to ensure that their students have a good level of understanding and means that they can react and respond quickly if something isn’t clicking.

States that do not participate in the Common Core have established their own academic requirements. For instance, the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) are the state standards for what Texas students should learn and be capable of performing in each subject and grade level. After receiving extensive input from educators and other stakeholders, the Texas State Board of Education creates and implements the TEKS standards.

How can I help my child with maths at home?

A great way to help your Year 2 students with their maths is to practise skills like counting and problem solving on a daily basis to boost their confidence in these areas. You can try to link maths to their hobbies and interests by using their toys as physical materials to count or to arrange by size.

In addition to this, our maths app is an award-winning resource that kids just love! It has thousands of fun interactive exercises that are put together in a personalised programme for each user and it’s fully aligned with the Year 2 maths curriculum.

Knowing where to start with helping your learners as they go through the maths Year 2 national curriculum can be difficult. This list of 45 Year 2 maths questions is a fantastic way to give you a great overview of your learner’s strengths and weaknesses to ensure they’re on track as they prepare for Year 3!

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